


Pizza can be Gourmet, Can't It?

by Chezmeralda



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, Makoharu Fanfiction Festival, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-23
Updated: 2015-01-23
Packaged: 2018-03-04 10:50:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3065054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chezmeralda/pseuds/Chezmeralda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Rich Kid Haru transfers to a regular high school to escape the snootiness and pressure of high society, only to meet and fall in love with classmate Makoto, a pizza delivery boy.</p><p>//ON HIATUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE (focusing on other projects rn)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pizza can be Gourmet, Can't It?

**Author's Note:**

> since i found out who this prompt belongs to ^^ i hope they like it

Haru tapped his fingers on the desk, staring blankly out the window as the teacher droned on about business theory.

He'd had about enough of this whole thing.

"Nanase-kun," the teacher called him out of his daydream, and Haru had to tear away his eyes from the two tiny birds playing and tumbling with each other in the air.

They were so free, unlike him

"Can you answer the question please?" the teacher asked.

"No," he said. The class stirred a little at his defiance. He was known to be the most quiet out of all of them. Rin turned around from the second row to furrow his brows at him.

"Nanase-kun," the teacher sounded stern, "if you didn't hear the question, you could have just said, and I would have repeated it for you."

"I heard the question," Haru replied smoothly. "I still won't answer it."

Two girls in the front row whispered to each other, and Haru fought the urge to roll his eyes. Rin was staring at him with a _what do you think you're doing_ face, and Haru heaved a sigh through his nose.

"Nanase-kun," the teacher began to sound more annoyed with him, and Haru briefly thought for a moment how long this would take, "if you don't know the answer-"

"I know the answer," he cut in, "I just don't want to answer your stupid question."

The class murmured to each other, and Haru stood there, staring at the teacher blankly. He could see him getting mad, but his anger didn't really scare Haru. He was done with all the pretense that this school was built on, that this school was made for, that this school thrived with.

He was ready to throw to the wind the pretense his whole life was steeped in.

"Well, then, Nanase-kun. I suppose since you're so adamant about answering such a _stupid question_ , perhaps it'd be best if you left for the rest of the day," the teacher tapped a finger on the desk as he regarded Haru. "You will have to explain to your parents why you thought the question was stupid, and why you refused to answer it. Once you've done that, and they come to explain to me your reason, you'll be allowed to return to class."

Haru picked up his back and jacket when the teacher turned around to the board and began to write, quickly leaving behind the class without a second glance back. He could feel them staring after him, but he didn't care.

As soon as he stepped outside onto the school grounds, he felt his breath come to him easier. It wasn't quite freedom, but it was enough to be outside. It was like he could fool himself, even if for a moment.

He normally got a ride home from his family's private chauffeur, but he wouldn't show up until the end of the school day, and Haru wasn't waiting around for him. He decided to walk home instead. It was more calm that way. Waiting for the chauffeur would mean that he would have to acknowledge yet _another_ part of his life that was all pretense and money.

He followed the path and saw some kids ( _common children_ , his mother would have said with a scoff as they drove by) walking around, leaning on trees, sitting on benches, talking, sharing snacks together. Weren't they supposed to be in class? Haru knew about his own school's policy (they'd receive a phone call to home if the child was missing without an explanation, and it was really hard for any of the students to miss a class unless they were sick), but he wasn't sure about other schools, were their rules more lax?

He watched a group of friends sitting around, leaning along a railing near the park, passing around a large bag of chips, and it made Haru feel a twinge of envy. He had Rin as a friend (and Sousuke as a begrudged acquaintance) but if they hung out, it was always a production.

_Hey, Haru, let's go to the movies! I got my dad to rent out a theatre to ourselves..._

_Yo, Haru, do you want to swim? My uncle suggested we go to his private suite in Bali for the weekend..._

_Nanase, you want to check this out? Apparently this composer is holding a concert in Italy, and Rin's not a big fan of Tchaikovsky..._

Haru sighed as he walked passed the group, they started laughing at a joke that one of them made, talking over each other to add to it. Although Haru wasn't one for adding too much to a joke, or conversation in general, the warmth and dynamic of a friendship that was easy as theirs was appealing.

He decided it would be best to cut through the park; going around it would be a pain. The park was basically empty, except for perhaps daycare children. Kids usually never approached him, though, with the constant frown on his face. 

He saw a group of children crowded around a bench, talking in excited, hushed tones as they huddled around a boy that looked to be about Haru's age. He slowed his steps so he could hear them better.

"Is it going to be okay?" one little girl pouted, voice whining with worry as she wiggled her way closer to the boy.

"He'll be fine," Haru heard the most gentle, nurturing voice calmly inform the young girl as she leaned in towards him, and Haru could just make out the outline of a tiny kitten, shivering from how small it was, curled up in his palm.

"Onii-san, will you take care of it?" a boy asked with reverence up at the boy on the bench. Haru watched as the boy smiled as he ruffled the little boy's hair, warm smile spreading across his face.

He was beautiful.

"I'll certainly try!" he answered cheerily, and Haru moved away as the children cooed and crowded around him, the kitten having stirred in his open palms. 

Haru reached home in record time as he stepped through the threshold, feet echoing through the empty halls tiled with marble. A castle in its own right, but nothing like what he would call home.

It was his house, nothing more.

"Welcome home, young master Nanase," one of the maids greeted as he walked through the long entrance way. Even the maids addressed him with such cold formality, it was no wonder the house was more like a cage than anything else.

Well, except for one place.

"I'm home, Grandmother," Haru peeked through her door, seeing her sitting by the large window, looking out into the garden that she loved so much.

"Oh, Haruka, come here," she called to him, patting her lap. He looked at her hands, wrinkled with age and frail from her long term illness. He frowned a little bit as he walked across the warm, carpeted floor to her.

"Look at that," she murmured, patting his hand as he reached her, and he followed her pointed finger to look out the window, seeing a couple of small butterflies fluttering through her orchids. "You're home early, dear."

Haru sighed as he pulled up a chair to sit next to her. "I got kicked out," he said, leaning his elbows on his knees, sighing into his palms. His grandmother made a click with her tongue as she looked at him with worried eyes. "I'm tired of it."

Haru didn't have to complete the rest of his sentence; his grandmother knew what he meant.

_I'm tired of this world I live in._

His grandmother cooed, stroking his bangs out of his hair. "You don't want to study at that school anymore, do you?" she asked gently, and Haru nodded, feeling his expression fall as she looked at him with concern. 

He knew that she didn't care where he went with his life, but he always felt like he was disappointing her. "What do I do?" he asked softly, looking up at her, pleading with hurt eyes. 

His grandmother hummed, hand stilling as she thought, before giving him a reassuring smile. "There is another school in this area you could go to," she said. "I think it would be best if you attended there instead, don't you think?"

Haru nodded, and then he pursed his lips. "Is it...?" not quite sure how to finish the sentence. 

His grandmother understood, anyway. "It's a normal school," she smiled. "Complete with normal people, and regular old clubs and all."

"What about my... parents," his voice was a near whisper now, knowing the storm he'd have to face once both of them got home. 

Grandmother's eyes hardened when she heard his concern. "I'll take care of it," she replied sternly, hand giving him a gentle pat. Haru watched her walk into the inner most part of her quarters before rising to leave.

Haru sighed as soon as he entered his room, allowing his book bag to drop with a dull plop on the floor. Although he probably should have been more concerned with how his parents would react to him getting kicked out of class, he couldn't be bothered with it at all.

Not when the boy on the bench wouldn't leave his mind at all. His fingers itched as he pulled out his easel and a canvas, clattering his paintbrushes on the floor.

He pulled out his paints, mixing colour after colour, the imprints of spring in his mind as he thought of that moment when he passed by that boy, when he'd heard him laugh and heard his gentle tone as he comforted the children around him.

He splattered a wash of light blue on his blank canvas, musing to himself briefly if he could capture even a hint of that voice in the stroke of his brush. He threw himself into his painting as he laid bare the scene, the hints of pink in the surrounding cherry trees, too early to show their flowers, the children huddled around him, some bundled still in heavy scarves to stave off any illness that they could be susceptible to.

He flicked his brush and the event of the afternoon came to life before him, his eyes darting faster than his brush as he imagined the portrait breathing and moving with his brush, seeing the paint bloom into shape and stain his canvas permanently. 

He stopped when he got to the boy's face, a small brush in his hand, having feathered in his lips. He looked to his green, the colour of his eyes having burned into his memory.

The green wasn't the right colour at all.

He slid every shade of green he had onto his palette, with some yellow, white, and black, using the tiniest edges of his knife to press lines of the eyes he didn't see in detail yet were burned in his brain even if he tried.

They were so green, and Haru's hands would not let him settle with the flat colour he had. He almost wanted to run back to the park, to see if the boy was still there. To lean in and see his eyes up close, so he could see every facet and sparkle, every flow and edge of his eyes so he could portray them properly-

A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts, and his hand twitched, brush poised just before his canvas, and he turned with furrowed eyebrows to the maid that peeked her head through the door.

"Nanase-sama?" she said a bit too sweetly. Haru tried not to outwardly show his contempt. New maids always tried to suck up to him like that, and this one was no exception. "Your parents are waiting for you in the den."

Haru nodded his acknowledgement and watched as the maid closed the door. He glanced back at his unfinished painting, the depth of green eyes not enough for what he saw, but too much for the style he used to paint the canvas with.

He sighed, knowing he'd have to wait for the paint to dry off so he could scrape it of and try again. If only he could look into those eyes one more time.

He set down his brush and palette, heaving a sigh before heading towards his parents.

Haru found himself standing in front of the heavy looking doors before long, the brass knobs almost taunting in their harsh polish.

It was time to get everything over with, and he pushed the door open.

His father was reading a stack of papers while his mother drank tea as a maid poured some more for her. The same maid that had been flirting with him earlier looked up and bowed her head to him before he noticed her tongue flick out to lick her lips slightly at him.

Disgusting.

"Haruka," his mother's voice cut through the air, as if the tension between the three of them wasn't large _enough_. "The school called your father at his office."

Haru waited as his mother sipped her tea; he learned a long time ago that it was best to just let them talk at him. "Apparently," she sighed, "you refused to answer your teacher's questions during the lesson."

His mother stared at him as she waited for another cup to be poured. She took a sip as he stood there, staring back at her with firm, hard eyes. "Haruka, we're terribly disappointed in you. How could you do something so disrespectful?"

His father peered at him over his papers. "Haruka," he said as he flipped a page and continued to read the next lines of the report.

Haru waited. He wasn't about to speak and give them a reason to yell at him. "How long do you plan to run away from who you are?" his father asked, setting down his papers on the coffee table in front of him. "You are the heir to the Nanase empire. You understand the responsibility that entails, don't you? You are not to stain our name with the insolence you showed at school today."

Haru fought hard not to roll his eyes, instead staring blankly ahead as his father continued to lecture him. "Perhaps it would be best if you had a tutor to come home to, to continue with the strict study you should be maintaining," his father folded his hands in his lap, waiting for Haru to answer.

Haru bit the inside of his cheek before opening his mouth; now or never, he supposed. "That won't be necessary, sir," he said carefully, calmly.

"Is that so?" his father sounded amused, but not buying it. "May I ask why?"

"Because I won't be returning to that school," Haru murmured, and judging from the way his mother's tea cup clattered on the saucer, they'd heard him perfectly.

"Nanase Haruka," his mother this time, sitting a bit straighter in her seat, just on the edge of it, "may you repeat what you just said?"

"I said," and Haru hoped that he was clearer, voice ringing loudly in the space between them, "I won't be returning to _that school_ again."

His father heaved a sigh and he could hear his mother shake with quiet anger, tea cup clacking against its saucer. "What makes you think you have a choice in that matter, Haruka?" his father asked him, voice low and threatening. "You live under my house, and you will live by my rules. This _includes_ going to school and completing it, as well as receiving top honors, _and_ attending the university of our choosing-"

"Do you think I'd be successful like that?" Haru spat out, a thumping near the crown of his head just beginning to tick there; the warnings of a headache. "That I'd just be your mindless puppet my whole life?"

He could see the maid that had been serving his mother tea shift nervously, and Haru squared his shoulders. The silence was almost deafening; just down the hallway, the old grandfather clock struck five. "You have no choice in the matter," his father was using his tone to end the conversation. "Your grandmother will be joining us soon, so i suggest you not speak one word to her about this."

As if right on cue, Haru's grandmother walked in slowly, seating herself near the window. The family gathered around five o'clock at her request every day, to wait for dinner together, before heading to the dining room. His grandmother caught his eye and she gave a tiny wink, and Haru immediately felt relaxed. "The tension in here could be cut like a steak," she mused, pulling her shawl over her shoulders as she sat delicately in her chair. Haru saw his parents shift awkwardly in their seats.

His grandmother tutted, turning in her seat slowly to look at his parents. "May I ask what happened here recently?" her voice was gentle, threat underlying behind the soft tone. Despite having retired from being head of the Nanase company, but she was still in charge as head of the family and owner of nearly fifty percent of the shares; her word was still law, even to his father.

The quiet room felt heavy to Haru, and his grandmother looked at him. He could feel her eyes on him, but he glanced down at the ground.

"There's nothing going on, mother," his father replied, voice steady, careful. "We were just discussing with Haruka about his academic future, nothing more."

At this, his grandmother's interest seemed to peek. "Well, if that's the case!" she chirped merrily as the made came by with a tray of tea sandwiches and cakes. "I have a wonderful idea for him. He should attend the public school down the hill."

Haru heard his mother nearly choke on her sip of tea. His father nearly dropped his glass of bourbon. Haru risked a glance at his grandmother, but she didn't meet his eyes.

"Mother," his father replied to her again, "I don't think-"

"I think it would be a wonderful movement for the company," his grandmother interrupted him. "To have a leader who could relate to the consuming market we sell to, don't you think?"

Haru blinked at his grandmother, chancing a glance at both his parents. He could see his mother's knuckles go white from how tightly she was holding her tea cup, and a muscle jumped in his father's jaw as he grit his teeth. "Yes," his father sounded like he was wheezing. "I suppose it would be a good move."

Haru turned to leave, and his parents did nothing to stop him. He hid the smile that pulled the corners of his lips behind a hand.

**Author's Note:**

> childofcolour @ tumblr


End file.
